Homewood cheerleaders search for a way to send Christmas care packages to U.S. sailors

Homewood's freshman cheer squad worked for an entire week to collect care package donations. Now, they need a little help getting them to their intended recipients. (Photo courtesy of Lana Wakefield)

HOMEWOOD, Alabama -- Last week, the freshman cheer squad at Homewood High School rallied together to collect items toward care packages for the U.S.S. George Washington stationed in Japan. Each of the cheerleaders worked with a freshman class--13 in all--throughout the week, encouraging students to donate candy, cookies, toothbrushes and even Christmas CDs. In all, said freshman cheer coach and Homewood High math teacher Lana Wakefield, the group was able to collect more than 60 pounds of supplies.

Now, however, the success of the fundraising has led to an unexpected problem: the cost of shipping.

According to the post office estimates she received, said Wakefield, shipping a 5 pound box to Japan will cost between $50 and $80. Sending all 60 pounds of supplies, therefore, could end up costing at least $3,000 based on those estimates--more money than the young cheer squad can afford.

That reality saddens her, she said, especially because the idea for the care packages came from a place close to her heart. Wakefield's younger brother, Kendall Queen, is stationed on that ship. This is the first time ever, she said, that she will not be able to enjoy Christmas with Queen.

"We wanted to try and send anything we could to try and remind them all of Christmas back home," said Wakefield.

Her brother joined the Navy last year, she said, but he was able to head home for the Holidays.

"My family is very close-knit to begin with," said Wakefield, "so the Holidays are a very big deal. When this time of year comes around, we take it to the max."

As soon as she found out that her brother would not join the rest of her family in their hometown in Mississippi, Wakefield said she wanted to try and do something to remind him of home. It just so happened, she said, that the cheering squad was also looking for a service project to carry out over the Holidays. When she pitched the idea to them, they were all instantly on board.

Along with collecting supplies, the cheerleaders worked to make handmade cards for the sailors. (Photo courtesy of Lana Wakefield)

At first, the plan was just to collect enough supplies to send a single care package that Queen could share with his friends, said Wakefield. She never imagined they would be able to collect so much in a single week. In all, Wakefield said she has enough supplies--fleece blankets, chips, and lip balm-- to send six or seven large boxes of supplies.

Her experience in sending things to her brother, she explained, is that usually the sailors end up sharing everything anyway--which is why she chose to simply box up a collection of supplies per box and leave the distribution up to them.

"We talked about doing something that would be a real, true service," said Wakefield about her cheerleaders, "and we accomplished just that. They are truly the ones that made it grow to this level."

Along with collecting the supplies, the cheerleaders also encouraged each of the freshmen classes to create at least one Christmas card for the sailors on the Navy ship. Each of the boxes will contain several Christmas cards as well, including special, glitter-decorated, extra-festive cards from the group of cheerleaders.

In order to raise the money for shipping costs, Wakefield said she is working on various incentives to present to the students. Currently, each of the classes is involved in a friendly fundraising competition, but Wakefield said she knows it will take more than that to reach their goal.

"I'd hate to see all their hard work go to waste," she said. "We'd hate to not be able to send everything we collected."

For information on how to help, email Wakefield at lwakefield@homewood.k12.al.us.